Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Reduces Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,330 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,044,795,000 after buying an additional 841,776 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after buying an additional 11,665,593 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 79.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,780,329,000 after buying an additional 14,680,161 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,540,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,302,119,000 after buying an additional 574,421 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,752,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $650,009,000 after buying an additional 224,960 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $104.08 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.71 billion, a PE ratio of 1,156.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $106.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,198.80. The trade was a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.